The present invention relates to data transfer between two or more computer systems and, more specifically, to constructively managing the extraction of data from a host machine and the use of a host machine resources by a requesting machine.
There has been significant growth in the Internet and new URLs or websites are coming on-line each day. At present, a person accessing the Internet typically transmits a simple request to a particular website or xe2x80x9chostxe2x80x9d computer. In response, the host computer returns the requested information. The returned information may be text and/or image data for a selected website page or the result of a boolean string database query or the like.
Requests from a user to a host machine can also be performed by a mobile software agent (MSA). A MSA is a computer program associated with a user that independently performs a request at a remote host computer on behalf of the user. MSAs typically contain a component that is transmitted to the host machine and that runs on the host machine as an application. The MSA may perform many tasks including accessing application software in the host, processing information on behalf of a user, completing a purchase, i.e., electronic commerce, and any other task that the agent is programmed to perform.
While current MSA and Internet technologies provide a beneficial increase in the transmission and dissemination of information, there are also disadvantageous aspects.
Currently, there are few or no limitations on the demands that a MSA can make on a host. If a first MSA processes a request that is overly consumptive of host resources, then a second MSA and a third MSA, etc., are prevented or undesirably delayed from accessing the host. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the number of users is continually increasing, thus increasing the likelihood of delayed or dropped responses.
In addition, MSAs are currently being developed that operate in different architectures. The utilization on a particular architecture of a MSA type that was designed for a different architecture may result in communication problems. A need thus exists to develop a manner of processing MSAs that permit more uniform operation on different architectures. Furthermore, there is also a need that MSAs be de-sensitized to (or function substantially independent of) such parameters as transport media, communication protocol, server type and xe2x80x9cagent language,xe2x80x9d etc., to accommodate the various types of MSAs that are likely to emerge and the environments in which they run.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a MSA arrangement that provides for efficient, managed and secure access to a remote host by a user.
It is another object of the present invention to provide host access management in an Internet environment or the like.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a MSA arrangement that implements a negotiated contract-like agreement between a user and host that defines access to the host by the user.
These and related objects of the present invention are achieved by use of an apparatus and method for mobile software agent with definable terms as described herein.
The attainment of the foregoing and related advantages and features of the invention should be more readily apparent to those skilled in the art, after review of the following more detailed description of the invention taken together with the drawings.